Leave the Mask Behind
by sponsormusings
Summary: Katniss Everdeen had taken the trip to get away, to do something for herself for once. But she didn't expect to become a walking cliché on her own European vacation… A submission for Prompts in Panem, March 2014. Day 7.


She pulled the zip up on the side of her dress with a little more force than she supposed it required. But she wasn't really keen on the idea of going out to start with, let alone putting on the one dress she'd packed, and wearing a stupid mask on her face all night. So the zip was getting the brunt of her annoyance.

_Come to the masquerade!_ Jo had said.

_It'll be fun!_ Madge echoed.

_I just want to sit in a plaza and eat gelato, _she'd argued.

But they hadn't listened, and poked and prodded and cajoled and threatened until she'd finally given in and signed up for the masquerade 'ball' that was being held that night.

In the mirror, Katniss studied the forest green dress she wore, its skirt flouncing slightly around her knees, with slim spaghetti straps and a slight V that showed just a hint of cleavage. It was a little more...flesh-baring than she normally wore, but she'd had to buy _something_ before they'd left on their holiday. It had been the only half decent thing she'd liked when she'd done an emergency dash to the mall two days before they'd left.

"Everdeen, quit hogging the damn bathroom would ya?" Jo's impatience was evident even through the closed door, and Katniss couldn't help but grin to herself. She knew exactly why Jo was so impatient, and it had something to do with the tall, dark and handsome guy she'd been flirting with since day one of their tour.

"Coming, coming," she replied, snatching the black and green half mask - adorned with silver crystals and a smattering of glitter - off the counter, and tying it around her face, the ribbon falling artfully through the dark waves cascading down her back. She had to admit that with the smoky eye make-up Madge had applied - combined with the mask, the hair and the glossy lips - she looked half decent.

She only wished she even cared about the 'ball'.

Yanking the door open, she found Madge and Jo standing impatiently in the middle of the hotel room they were sharing, Jo in a fitted black mini-dress and a red mask that actually looked a little frightening, Madge in a teal blue dress that ended just above her knees and a mask that almost looked like it had been dyed to match.

"Well don't you look like the shit," Jo commented, before pushing past. "Now I gotta pee. Be out in 5, then we can go."

The door slammed behind her, and Madge and Katniss glanced at each other before snickering. "Jo's right, you do look good," Madge told her.

"So do you," Katniss replied. "But do I really have to go?"

Madge sighed, glancing in the mirror and twisting one of her blonde curls around her finger before letting it go; it bounced perfectly back into place. "You came on this vacation to have some fun, right?"

"Yeah."

"To forget about home for a bit?"

"Yeah." _She still felt guilty about that_.

"And Prim wanted you to have some fun before you start your final year of college." The last was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah."

"So have some fun. C'mon, Katniss, we're in freaking _Italy_ and we're only halfway through the trip. You've gotta start socialising with some of the others on the tour, ok? You can't just keep to yourself during the social activities."

Katniss nodded reluctantly, then pursed her lips. "But we can still get gelato later, right?"

Madge shook her head, but still couldn't help the grin on her face. "Yes, we can."

_At least she had one thing to look forward to._

* * *

Stepping inside, she had to admit that the function room the masquerade was taking place in looked amazing. It was in a little building not far from the Rialto Bridge, bedecked in fairy lights, fabric draped elegantly across the ceiling and framing the windows, with fake marble pillars dotted throughout the room. It opened out onto a courtyard similarly glittering with lights, and she thought she could almost imagine it was 200 years earlier - if it wasn't for Pitbull and Kesha blasting through the speakers.

Not exactly what she thought they'd play at a legit masquerade.

The room was full, not just with people from their own tour group, but evidently a bunch of others as well. It didn't surprise her - meandering her way through the winding streets of Venice the last two days, she'd seen people with the tell-tale lanyards around their neck, the groups hurriedly running after their tour director before he turned a corner and was lost to them forever. It just showed what a tourist mecca this city was.

"How are we going to find _anyone_ in here?" Jo moaned, eyes frantically scanning the room.

Katniss raised her eyebrow at her, before she realised that, with her mask in place, Jo couldn't see it anyway. "Hair and height is a pretty good indicator," she told her wryly. "I'm sure you'll find your boyfriend sooner or later."

"He's not my boyfriend," Jo murmured. "I just want to bang him."

Madge clucked her tongue - the only one of the three with a steady boyfriend back home, she'd studiously knocked back the advances of at least two of the douchebags on their tour. "Either way, we're just here to eat, drink and probably dance til our feet hurt. Bar?"

"Bar," Jo echoed, and Katniss tagged along with nothing better to do. She was fine with the first two - the dancing, though, was another story.

It wasn't bad, she had to admit later, as she took a pull from the beer bottle clasped in her hand. In the last couple of hours she had drunk her payments worth, and had gobbled at least half a dozen of the mini pizzas that circulated the room. People in masks of various shapes, colours and sizes had surrounded her, adding a sense of mystery and fun and frivolity to the night she hadn't really expected. She'd - reluctantly - danced a little, and had been glad for the flats she'd insisted on wearing.

Jo had been lost an hour into the night, and Madge had disappeared 15 minutes later - Katniss assumed a bathroom had claimed her, because unlimited alcohol and Madge weren't a terrific combo. Which meant it was an opportune time to sneak out, and get what she really wanted. If they were looking for her, they'd figure it out soon enough; as it was, she had to be back by 11 for the water taxi back to the hotel anyway. She had plenty of time.

Another tray of pizzas passed by, and without thinking she reached out, her fingers closing around the thin crust of one the moment another hand - this one strong, with long fingers and a wide palm - did. They did a slight tug of war before she glanced up quickly and noted the guy in front of her was looking at her strangely. She immediately dropped it, picking up another and shoving it in her mouth.

"Sorry," he apologised. "I should have let you have that one."

"All good," she replied through a mouthful of cheese. She swallowed quickly. "I still got one."

"I'm glad," he told her with a grin. She felt a quick lurch in her belly at the blinding charm that seemed to burst out of the smile, and hurriedly looked away. It didn't matter though; the impression of blue eyes behind a black and gold mask and messy blond waves falling over his forehead had embedded themselves in her brain.

_Quit it, Katniss. You're not here to meet anyone._

"They're good, huh?" He asked, popping the last of the pizza in his mouth and sliding his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

"I'm in Italy," Katniss said simply. "Of course the pizza is good."

"That's true," he agreed. Awkward silence fell around them, despite the music blaring around the room, and the cacophony of voices. She didn't know if she was meant to say anything more, but she couldn't think of anything - conversation, stilted or otherwise, wasn't her strong point. She began to turn on her heel to walk away when he cleared his throat, the question tumbling from his mouth quickly.

"So, uh, how are you finding the masquerade?"

Katniss turned back to face him and shrugged. "It's not been too bad. It seems like a good opportunity to just drink, eat, hang out and pretend I'm Venetian."

"Well, you look very Venetian, whatever that means," he smiled. "I like your mask."

"It's just a cheap one," she said automatically. "One of the ones they sell to tourists who can't afford the real thing."

"Same. I literally bought it an hour before this started. I wasn't going to come, but my friend Finnick made me."

"My girlfriends made me come too," Katniss screwed up her face. "I'm not really one for these kind of things."

"Masquerades?"

"The drinking and hanging out. You know, socialising." She shrugged. "All I wanted was gelato."

"You haven't had any yet?" She could hear the surprise in his voice.

"Of course I have," she scoffed. "Just, uh...not today." _Yes she had, right after lunch._

He smiled, and she looked away again, around the room that was getting busier and busier by the moment. The fuller the room became, the more Katniss was surprised at how odd it was not to really be able to see anyone's face. She was glad she'd made the decision to leave.

"What do you say we get out of here and get some gelato?"

"What?" Her gaze whipped back to him, her mouth agape.

He gestured around the room. "Do you _really_ want to stay here?"

"No..."

"Do you want some gelato?"

"Yes."

"Then c'mon. Let's go get some."

She looked down at the hand outstretched towards hers, then back up at his obscured face. "But I don't know you."

"I don't know you either," he countered. "I promise we can stay in highly populated areas. Which, considering where we are, shouldn't be a problem. But if it makes you feel any better, my name is Peeta, and I'm from New York state."

"Peeta?" She asked doubtfully. _It sounded made up._

He crossed his fingers in front of her. "It's really my name, I promise. Now you're the only one who's a stranger."

Katniss' bottom lip poked out, and she worried it between her teeth. "Katniss, from Pennsylvania," she finally murmured.

"Katniss?" he echoed.

"Yes," she retorted. "I'm not making it up, you know."

He laughed. "Then we're even. We both have names that people think are fake. I do, however, think yours is lovely," he said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you Katniss. Now, what do you say to this gelato? Are you going to come with me?"

She took a deep breath, a hundred scenarios running through her mind that all ended with her floating at the bottom of a canal. But then she caught his eye, and they were so sincere, completely free of malice, that she couldn't help but think _what the hell_.

She took his hand.

He smiled, and began to weave them through the room towards the front door. A big, beefy guy in black stamped their hands on their way out, before they stepped out into the early evening. It still amazed her how late the sun set here during the summer - it was 8pm, and the angle of the sun made it feel like 4.

She loved it.

"Wait!" she said, before they moved any further. Her fingers reached up into her hair, began to untie the ribbons that held the mask in place. "I just want to remove my mask."

"Why?"

"Why?" she echoed incredulously. "Because people will look at me weird."

He shrugged. "But you're halfway across the world from home - the only people you know are in there." Peeta pointed back to the building behind them. "Plus, behind the mask, people can't even see who you are. You're anonymous. Why not just...leave it on?"

Her arms fell limply to her sides. "You want me to leave my mask on?"

Peeta's eyes shined in amusement behind his mask. "Sure. Kind of makes it fun, right? It's almost like you're hiding in plain view. And I'll leave mine on too."

She narrowed her eyes, planted her hands on her hips. She ignored the people stepping around them, giving them dirty looks as she and Peeta blocked their path. "What gives?"

"What gives, what?"

"You. This." She gestured between the two of them with her hand. "And the masks?"

Peeta smiled gently. "Nothing gives. I just feel like you want to be in there about as much as I did - which isn't a lot. I'm not making any moves on you or whatever, and there's nothing underhanded with the masks - we're simply going to be two people getting gelato. I just to make it a little fun - just because we're leaving the masquerade doesn't mean we have to leave the masks behind."

Madge's words from earlier in the night echoed back at her - _You came on this vacation to have some fun, right?_ - and she realised there was no harm in it. She knew where the masquerade was being held, she had her passport - and she had a small bottle of spray deodorant in her purse that, if push came to shove, she could blast in his – _dammit, so freaking blue _ - eyes.

"Ok then," she agreed quietly. "Let's leave the masks on." He grinned, grabbed her hand again, and drew her into the crowd.

* * *

"Pistachio is disgusting."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is. It tastes like the cherry medicine my mom made me take as a kid."

"It tastes like summer."

"You're deluded."

Katniss spooned another mound of icy boysenberry into her mouth, shaking her head at Peeta's choice of gelato, but didn't push it any further. There wasn't anything he could say that would dissuade her and vice versa.

They'd wandered away from the Rialto, into the winding streets, meandering over bridges and canals. She'd been surprised that they'd been able to maintain a half decent conversation, for two people who had never met before. They'd found a gelato shop that wasn't crammed with tourists and had snuck in, quickly picking their flavours and venturing back out onto the street. Now, they leant against the stone railing of a small bridge, and she didn't even have a clue where she was. She wasn't too worried - she knew as long as she could find a sign that pointed her back to the Rialto or even St Marks, she'd be fine. And it was kind of nice just not having to worry about a schedule and being somewhere at a certain time to make sure she didn't miss the boat or bus or plane or whatever. As long as she was back at the masquerade by 11, that's all that mattered.

She'd even found the freedom of the mask liberating. Peeta was right. No one knew who they were, and if they got a few strange looks, so be it. They were as much a stranger to the other person staring at them as they were to them. And, she had to admit, it was kind of fun traipsing through a foreign city doing something she would never think twice about doing anywhere else. With a stranger, no less.

"So Katniss," Peeta asked, pulling himself up so that he was perched on the bridge ledge. He raised his spoon to his mouth, and if she looked a little too closely at the way his full lower lip caught and slid under the curved white plastic, she didn't want to admit it. "What brought you to Italy?"

"A plane," she smirked.

"Haha," he grinned. "No, really. Any particular reason? Or just a holiday?"

Katniss studiously focused on the cup in her hand, drawing the small spoon across the top of the pale red mixture. How honest should she be? Should she tell him that Jo and Madge had convinced her that she deserved it, after so many years of not treating herself to anything? How, after coming into the small inheritance that had been put aside for her when her father had passed away 10 years ago, that they'd said she should do something for _her_ for once, not for her mom, or her sister? And that her sister had, at the ripe old age of 18, firmly told her to stop acting like a responsible adult for once and have fun?

Simple was better.

"Ahh, it's just a trip with two girlfriends. We're all starting our final year of college soon, and Italy was always somewhere we wanted to visit. So...we saved. And here we are."

"Cool. And you're on a _Wayfarer_ tour?" She nodded. "Me too. We're doing the 16 day Rome to Rome round trip."

"We're only doing the 12 day," Katniss replied. "We miss the Cinque Terre."

"Ahh, that's a shame," he replied.

She nodded - she'd been disappointed too. But the budget hadn't stretched that far. "What about you? Any reasons for your trip?"

Peeta grinned. "My buddy, Finnick. He's a couple years older than me and is getting married later this year. Wanted a 'Last Tour of Freedom' kind of deal. Except he's spent most nights calling her, so I don't know how much of it is Tour of Freedom or Tour of The Very Expensive Phone Bill."

Katniss winced. "Ouch. I didn't even bring mine with me."

Peeta raised his eyebrow - she could faintly see the dark blond line rise above the top of his slimline mask. "Really? How are you keeping in contact with people at home?"

"I'm not. Well, I am," Katniss amended. "I just borrow my friends iPad if I need it. My mom works crazy hours and never checks email anyway, and my sister is with her boyfriend's family for summer vacation, so…"

"And, uh, no one else you'd keep in contact with?"

She side-eyed him, but he was innocently spooning gelato into his mouth. "Are you trying to ask if I have a boyfriend?"

She was surprised to see the faint blush on his cheek. "No. Yes. Maybe," he admitted. "Just...curious."

"I thought you said there was nothing to this gelato expedition? Just two people hanging out."

"There isn't, and we are!" he protested. "I'm just curious. Nothing more."

"Well, there's nothing to tell. No one else for me to keep in contact with back home." Katniss focused on a boat that was moving towards them along the canal, anywhere but looking at him. She couldn't look at him; her stomach was beginning to pitch crazily every time she did. Because even though his face was partially obscured, she was _sure _he was hot, knew every time he smiled at her it caused a little flutter of want in the middle of her chest. It didn't mean she wanted to admit to it though, to acknowledge the way she was responding to a stranger.

It still didn't stop her from feeling complete and utter disappointment that he was insistent that he wasn't asking for any other reason than curiosity.

But, she supposed, two could play at that.

Katniss cleared her throat. "So what about you? Anyone at home to keep in contact with?"

He grinned. "Curious, huh?"

"Trying to be sociable," she countered, and he laughed.

"Nah. I sent my brothers an email a few days ago, but that's about it. I'm not away for very long, and they wouldn't really miss me too much."

"Your brothers?"

"My family," he replied. And though he said it blithely, as though he didn't care, she caught the edge to his tone.

"I'm sure they would," she said quietly, though from her own experience, she knew very well that not all families were the cookie cutter perfect type.

"It doesn't matter. I'm here to have fun, not worry about home." He shrugged, hopped off the bench. "C'mon, let's head on over to the Piazza. The Basilica and the square look great in the evening."

Katniss nodded, but didn't say anything, simply followed him down the steps to the pathway in front of them. If he didn't want to expand any further on it, it was fine. It wasn't like she'd given him the full story on her family anyway.

The streets were still pulsing with crowds, the alleyways confusing. She could absolutely understand how people could get lost, and saw plenty of other tourists with large scale maps pressed against walls, their fingers tracing the man-made land mass to try and determine where they were.

They walked under the _Torre dell'Orologio _and the winding paths they'd become accustomed to opened up into the wide, open square, filled with people, the imposing Basilica in front of them, the _Campanile _proudly beside it.

"I almost feel like I'm going to see Donald Sutherland and Mark Wahlberg walking through here," Katniss admitted, scanning the area, and Peeta laughed.

"And Handsome Rob driving a boat through the canals," Peeta agreed, chuckling. "Man, my brothers loved that movie. They watched it probably once a week when they were younger."

"My best friend loved it," she replied. "I just watched it for Venice at the start."

"And here you are," he grinned. She nodded.

"Here I am."

They sat on a step that skirted a small fountain beside the Basilica, watching the people walk by, the birds as they flew past, as the sun began to set, its orange rays splicing through the square. She was glad that Peeta didn't feel the need to talk constantly, that he didn't try and force a conversation. She slipped her camera out of her purse, took a couple of photos as the first hint of twilight set in.

_She didn't tell Peeta she caught his profile – the slope of his nose, the set of his jaw, the curling of hair at the nape of his neck - in at least one of them._

"Have you been inside the Basilica?" he suddenly asked her, tipping his head towards the building that rose up beside them. She nodded. "What did you think?"

"It was a little dull," she admitted. "It was dark, and you had to pay extra to go into some parts of it."

"Did you go upstairs?"

"No, that cost extra too."

"Ahh, Katniss, you should have." He leant back, rested on the palms of his hands. "It's amazing. It might look dark downstairs, but upstairs is a whole other story. Those paintings on the walls? They're not actually paintings - they're mosaics. That church is made up of hundreds of thousands of little tiles, and when the sun comes through and hits them, they're like a burnished gold. It's amazing, so intricate and detailed. And, of course, you get great views out into the square." He indicated around them, but Katniss couldn't take her eyes off of him. His whole face had come alive as he'd spoken, his eyes bright and enthusiastic behind his mask. She could hear it in his voice, the thrill of his discovery evident in its tone. Desire coursed through her like molten wax, and she cursed herself. _You're not here to meet anyone, Katniss. This is completely innocent._ "Venice is really such an amazing place. I mean, I can't wait for Florence, but here? It's got this feeling of being alive."

"And it doesn't smell," Katniss added; it was the only thing she could think of.

"What?"

"It, uh, doesn't smell. I always figured with all the water and whatever it would kind of smell...like sewage."

Peeta laughed. "I think it did, once upon a time. But not anymore." Hopping to his feet, he held out a hand to her, waited for her to take it. She did so hesitantly, and she realised she would have to be utterly dumb and oblivious if she didn't feel the shiver that ran up her arm at his touch.

_You haven't even seen his whole face, Katniss._

"Where are we going?"

He grinned. "You been on a gondola ride yet?"

Katniss scoffed, even as he casually twined their fingers as they walked through the _Piazetta_ toward the lagoon. "No. They're a rip off."

"Katniss, you only live once," he winked, leading her towards the busy docks where people lined for the gondolas that were coming back and forth constantly. "C'mon. I'll treat you to one, and you can see some canals."

"I've seen some," she protested. "I've walked over dozens of bridges the last couple of days."

"This is different, I promise," he told her. She shook her head, but didn't argue. She'd agreed to hang out with this relative stranger for a couple of hours, and if he wanted to pay a fortune for a gondola ride, then so be it.

They didn't have to wait long until they were at the front of the line, and her mouth dropped open as Peeta began speaking to the gondolier in perfect Italian, with hand gestures to boot. The words fell from his tongue like he'd been born speaking the language, and she vaguely entertained the thought of hearing that voice utter anything in Italian in her ear, in the dark, his body hovering over hers_._

With a grin, he turned to her, gestured towards the black gondola adorned with red and gold trim. Flustered, Katniss hesitantly stepped in, holding the hand of the gondolier to steady herself. She sat timidly on one of the side seats until the gondolier shook his head emphatically, pointing towards the two person seat at the end. "There, there!" He told her, and she was startled enough to oblige. It wasn't until Peeta climbed aboard and was made to sit next to her, that she realised how small the seat was. It was meant for lovers.

She was taking a gondola ride on a heart shaped chair with a guy she hadn't known for two hours.

_How did she even get here?_

She sat quietly as the gondola moved out slightly into the lagoon, before heading down one of the canals. She glanced up at the Bridge of Sighs as they passed under, a bridge that she only walked by the day before with Madge and Jo. She shivered at the thought of the people walking through it hundreds of years ago that would never see sunlight or feel fresh air again.

They didn't speak, the only noise the chatter from the bridges that they passed under, and the deep tones of a gondolier up ahead who was serenading their occupants. She hated to admit that Peeta was right - it was a completely different perspective from here, seeing the quiet corners of a city otherwise bustling and busy. Colourful flowers spilled out of window-boxes, wrought iron balustrades gave bridges a romantic feel, poles that looked like they belonged in a barber shop sprouted up from the water.

But she kept getting distracted by the warm length of his jeans clad thigh lined up against hers, his arm brushing against hers in the confined space.

"So, uh, you speak Italian, huh?" she asked, figuring she was better off asking him questions than thinking about things she shouldn't.

He turned to her, grinned. "Yeah, I learnt it in high school. My teacher liked to tell me that I have such a way with words that it transcends language. It's definitely come in handy."

"It seems it. Do you just know the basics?"

"The basics, enough to carry on a conversation. A few insults which I like to throw at Finnick when he's being a dick."

Katniss laughed. "What do you say to him?"

"_Che stronzo arrogante_, which, translated, basically means _cocky asshole."_

Her blood pressure raised about a hundred degrees. _Falling from his lips in Italian, even an insult was incredibly hot. _"Charming," she managed to choke out, and he smiled in reply.

The air began to shift the longer the ride went on so that it was a little cooler, a welcome relief from the heat of the day. The sky was deepening to blue, stars beginning to shine overhead, the lights along the canal guiding their way. She shivered slightly, and he turned to her in concern. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," she told him. "The air is just getting a little cool."

"I'm sorry I don't have a jacket," he apologised.

"No, I don't need one. I'll be fine in a minute."

Peeta cleared his throat, shifted in his seat. "I, uh, I could…put my arm around you if you like."

Katniss snorted. "Getting carried along with the romance of a gondola ride?" But her brain was screaming _yes please!_

"Offering to try and stave off the cool air," he countered. "But if you're fine…"

She sighed internally, knowing that he was just trying to be nice. And she had to admit that the breeze was cooler than she'd expected it to be. "Well, as long as you don't mind," she said quietly.

"Not at all," Peeta replied, lifting his arm from beside him to wind around her shoulders. His hand rested against her upper arm, the weight of his warm and comforting. An almost instinctive clutch of his hand pulled her closer, so that her shoulder tucked in underneath his. His fingers brushed slightly against her skin.

_It felt nicer than it should have_.

"Better?"

"Thanks," she murmured, and looked away.

_She was pretty certain she was in trouble. In Venice. _

_What a cliché._

* * *

The rest of the ride was innocent, though her stomach continued to twitch nervously every time he bumped up against her. And when they'd alighted from the gondola, the gondolier had winked at her, tipped his head toward Peeta with a knowing smile.

She was thankful the night hid the way her face turned ten shades of red.

They walked through the _Piazetta_, through the square, followed the signs that led them back to the Rialto. It didn't take them as long to get there - their focus on getting back in the most direct route - and soon enough they were back at the entrance to the masquerade, music still blasting out the front door.

Facing each other, they stood awkwardly, unsure what to say now that their unexpected adventure had come to an end. Finally, after a good 3 minutes of silence, Katniss spoke up.

"Thank you for tonight," she said. "I, uh, had a really good time."

"Me too," Peeta agreed with a soft smile. "Although the masquerade didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would...heading out with you was even better."

"Yeah." She didn't know what else to say. Was this going to be the last time she ever saw him? Would she _ever_ see him? Her palms were damp, her heart pounding. Surely this wasn't going to be how they would go their separate ways, with awkward silence and stilted sentences?

"Katniss?" he said abruptly, his voice tight.

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you goodnight?"

Her mouth dropped open while her heart leapt. "But...you don't know what I look like," she argued weakly.

"It doesn't matter." His hand reached up and ghosted across her cheek before dropping back to his side. "I've wanted to kiss you since we fought over a pizza, and then had to pretend all night that I just wanted to be your gelato pal."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "You seemed pretty insistent that we were just going to be two people hanging out. I didn't want to ruin that."

Her head was spinning, and she bit down on her lip, hard. "I did just want it to be two people hanging out," she finally admitted. "But…"

"But?" His voice was hopeful.

The lump rose in her throat, simultaneously terrified of either answer she could give. She _wanted_ to kiss him, had wanted to since the moment he'd held out a hand to her and asked her if she'd go with him. But she also didn't want to - she hadn't come here to meet anyone, to even entertain the thought of _connecting_ with anyone. She'd come here for a holiday, that was all.

_That was all._

_Screw that._

"I want you to kiss me."

His lips were on hers in an instant, hot and intense and needy all rolled into one. His hands twisted in her hair, catching on the long strands, tugging her head back slightly. It was as though almost three hours of pent up desire came pouring out in a rush, and she gripped onto his arms for balance. Her lips parted to catch a breath, but all it did was spur Peeta on - he took her bottom lip into his mouth, grazing his teeth, and then his tongue, across it. Her fingers dug in tightly before sliding her arms over his shoulders, clutching at his shoulder blades, feeling the muscles shift and stretch under both skin and fabric.

It was somewhere between their tongues dancing against each other's and his hand clutching at her hip that she realised it had been inevitable - they'd been headed for this since they'd locked eyes across a silver tray and she'd been stupid to try and deny it.

With a little regret, she pulled away slightly, tucked her face into the crook of his neck, tried to calm her breathing. His arm wrapped around her waist, the other smoothed down her hair. They didn't say anything, and this time, no one having to skirt around them did so disgruntledly. Venice was a place for lovers, not fighters, and everyone knew it.

"Can I take the mask off?" He finally asked quietly, and she nodded. She felt his fingers fumble at the back of her head until it loosened; she reached up and helped him, their fingers tangling with each other's as they pulled the mask away from her face. She watched as his eyes darkened beneath his mask, as his mouth curved into a knowing grin.

"I knew it," Peeta murmured.

"Knew what?"

"That you were beautiful inside _and_ out."

She wanted to roll her eyes, wanted to make a stupid joke, but for once, she found she couldn't. She may not have agreed with him, but they'd already determined her boysenberry was his pistachio, and vice versa.

Without waiting for his approval, she reached for his own mask, happy to find it was one of those deals that had a thin, elasticised band. It slipped over his head easily, mussing up his blond waves even more, and for the first time that evening, she could see _him_, not just some Zorro version of him.

She'd been worried he wouldn't live up to the expectations she'd had building all night. She needn't have.

He was, without a doubt, the hottest guy she'd ever met.

"It's nice to meet you, Peeta," she said simply.

"It's nice to meet you too, Katniss," he grinned.

He kissed her again under a sky lit by the moon and the stars.

* * *

From: Peeta Mellark

To: Katniss Everdeen

Subject: Rome?

Hey Katniss,

Thanks for giving me your email address. I'm hoping you get this before the end of your trip….and that you don't think I'm a creepy stalker. I've been a bit sneaky and have looked up the dates of your tour. I know yours finishes a day after mine, and Finnick and I have an extra two days in Rome at the end. If you don't have to catch a flight home straight away...I'd love to see you again.

I had an amazing time walking the streets of Venice with you yesterday.

Peeta.

* * *

From: Katniss Everdeen

To: Peeta Mellark

Subject: Re: Rome?

I've always wanted to see the Coliseum. What do you say we check out a real, gladiatorial arena?

K


End file.
